Margaret “Meg” Schedel, a professor in the Department of Music and interim chair of the Department of Journalism at Stony Brook University, has been named one of 11 faculty fellows in the State University of New York (SUNY) Accessibility Advocates and Allies Faculty Fellowship Program. The announcement was made by SUNY Chancellor John B. King Jr. earlier this month.
The fellowship program is designed to help faculty promote digital accessibility and Universal Design for Learning practices across SUNY campuses. This marks the second cohort for the initiative, which is led by the SUNY Office of Student Success and the SUNY Office of the Provost.
Schedel has focused her teaching on accommodating diverse learning styles and embedding accessibility into course design from the outset. “I design courses with the assumption that many students will not disclose disabilities,” Schedel said. “From my leadership vantage point, I believe accessibility must be embedded directly into decision-making. Faculty development should not stop at checklists but instead prepare instructors to evaluate tools, assignments and policies by asking: who is included and who might be left out?”
Chancellor King praised this year’s selected fellows: “There is a place at SUNY for everyone and we work tirelessly to ensure our campuses are inclusive and welcoming for every student. The work of the Accessibility Advocates and Allies faculty fellows is essential to ensuring SUNY faculty have the resources they need to foster a supportive and accessible environment for students with disabilities. Congratulations to the faculty fellows selected for this year’s program, which will help advance accessibility throughout the SUNY System.”
In her classes, Schedel provides students with options such as scaffolded deadlines, multiple formats for assignments—including written papers or creative works—and combines lectures with demonstrations, labs, and online resources. Her music compositions also include visual and tactile elements so more people can participate fully.
Schedel has coauthored research on integrating universal design principles into music studies, supported by funding from the National Science Foundation. At Stony Brook University, she has held various leadership roles advocating for proactive accessibility planning over reactive accommodations.
She developed workshops through Stony Brook’s Center for Excellence in Learning and Teaching aimed at helping other faculty embed accessibility in their courses from inception rather than as an afterthought. During her time as interim chair of the Department of Art during the pandemic, she promoted flexible assessments so students were not disadvantaged if they lacked access to certain technologies.
Schedel also contributed to updating administrative processes at Stony Brook to encourage broader participation among faculty members with different needs.
Additionally, after creating a successful massive open online course (MOOC), Schedel helped establish guidelines that led to distributing over $1 million in grants through Stony Brook’s Online Learning Development Initiative to assist other instructors in redesigning their courses with accessibility as a core principle.
David Wrobel, dean of Stony Brook’s College of Arts and Sciences commented: “First, my sincere thanks to Meg for her continued dedication to addressing the needs of all of our students, and keeping accessibility at the forefront of her curricular plans. I’m so pleased and proud that she has been named as one of a relatively small number of faculty fellows for this important accessibility advocacy program. It’s another wonderful opportunity for the College to expand its digital accessibility and inclusivity drawing on Meg’s knowledge, expertise and guidance.”
Stephanie Kelton, interim dean of Stony Brook’s School of Communication and Journalism added: “Professor Meg Schedel exemplifies the kind of transformative leadership that makes Stony Brook a more inclusive institution. Her commitment to embedding accessibility into every aspect of teaching and learning, from course design to assessment, has influenced countless colleagues and students. This fellowship recognition reflects not only her individual excellence but also the ripple effect her work has had across the School of Communication and Journalism and the greater Stony Brook campus. We’re proud to have her representing SoCJ in this important SUNY-wide initiative.”
